What's in a surname?

Sanjay Dutt feels women should assume their husband���s names after they marry. Should the wannabe politico be more PC?
Girls who become part of a new family after marriage must assume their new surname,��� Sanjay Dutt has said recently. The Khal Nayak���s statement hasn���t gone down very well with Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chaudhary, who termed it ���archaic and out-of-date.���
In fact, designer Deepika Govind, who retained her maiden name after she got married, says, ���It���s such a chauvinistic statement, it makes me angry.A woman should have the freedom to make a choice. At times, I use my husband���s surname but that depends solely on me,��� she adds.
And there are several prominent women such as Shabana Azmi, Raveena Tandon, Pooja Bhatt and Priya Dutt, who have retained their maiden names, which is a wise choice, says actress Pooja Gandhi. ���Professionally, when one has established a name for oneself, it doesn���t make sense to drop it after marriage. It���s like taking away one���s individuality. However, it���s all right if a woman keeps her maiden name and adds her husband���s surname to it so that they���re identified as a couple. And that���s something that I also would do,��� she says. Think Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
According to entertainment pro Rohit Barker, whether a woman retains her maiden name or changes it after marriage, it makes no difference these days. ���Such things are unimportant to a strong marital bond. It doesn���t affect it in any way,��� says Rohit.
Actress Priyanka Trivedi, who changed her name to Priyanka Upendra after she got married, feels it���s a very personal choice and not an issue in today���s society. ���I changed my name because I never wanted to have a long surname. There was no pressure to do so and I see no harm if a woman willingly changes her maiden name,��� says Priyanka.
Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), Girija Vyas, is cautious when commenting on the issue. ���We have to understand the context in which Sanjay Dutt made that comment. But no matter what kind of society she lives in, a woman has the right to take any surname she wants,��� she says.